


Under Pressure

by Fictional_Affliction



Category: Total Drama (Cartoon), Total DramaRama (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2020-04-24 11:29:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19172389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fictional_Affliction/pseuds/Fictional_Affliction
Summary: Courtney has always had a way of dealing with her stress, but with high school and her developing relationship with Duncan, can she really handle it all?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For a while I wanted to write a fic about how Courtney hits herself (trigger warning for self harm) I even wrote a small drabble about it, well that drabble turned into a story. The beginning will be familiar to you if you read said dribble. Also, this story follows the Total Dramarama universe, but they’re all in high school now. There are serious themes in this story, but it’s written by me so THERE’S A LOT OF DUNCNEY.

 

Courtney glared at her reflection in her bathroom mirror. The familiar sting of tears burned her eyes and she gripped the bathroom sink hard to stop them. She grit her teeth as she tried to stifle her emotions but feelings of disappointment and self loathing consumed her. 

 

“You’re pathetic.” She whispered scathingly to herself for almost crying. There was no one to blame but herself and she shouldn’t be crying. Crying meant she was weak. 

 

She had gotten a B- on her AP chemistry exam, practically a C. An exam that counted for fifteen percent of her grade. There was so much riding on junior year and she was ruining it. She had a lot on her plate. She was class president, took every honors and AP class she could, ran Model UN, among other clubs, and did volunteer work. She should be able to handle all of it. Her grades and promise of a bright future felt like they were slipping through her fingers. 

 

Courtney released the sink and raised her right hand so that it too was reflected in the mirror. 

 

“You deserve this.” She scolded before slapping herself across her face. Her head turned from the assault and she faced the mirror again, still furious with her incompetence. 

 

She needed to study harder, be more diligent. Maybe if Courtney was lucky her chemistry teacher would let her do extra credit. 

 

Again her palm collided with her cheek, harder this time. An angry, hot handprint was left behind.

 

Courtney winced but welcomed the pain, then her left hand repeated the action on her other cheek. Courtney panted from the impact but was satisfied that she had punished herself enough for tonight.

 

She stumbled as she made her way back to her room where she fell onto her bed. Her face and hands stung, but she fell into a fitful sleep.

 

In the morning she would seek out her professor before classes and do what it took to fix this. 

 

Whatever it took.

 

* * *

 

 

She woke up startled by the sound of her bedroom window opening. Courtney jumped out of bed ready to spring into action with the skills she had learned in that women’s self defense class she’d taken; and turned on the lamp on her bedside table. 

 

“Chill Princess, it’s just me.” Duncan said with his hands up before she could strike. Courtney caught her breath, her heart rate slowing down.

 

“Duncan! What are you doing here?”

 

“I’m back from Juvie.”

 

“Obviously. I mean what are you doing in my room at,” she glanced at her clock, “ six in the morning?” 

 

“Thought I’d drop in and see how much you missed me.” He’d gotten close to her and grinned. Courtney narrowed her eyes, not impressed with his cocky attitude, she was used to it after all these years but still annoyed nonetheless. Duncan looked down at her tank top and short shorts. 

 

“Nice pajamas by the way.” Courtney crosses her arms over her chest and ignored his lingering gaze and how it made her face flush. 

 

“Well... I didn’t miss you.” Courtney insisted while looking away from him and how he had invaded her personal space. She had missed him, she’d missed him a lot, but she’d never tell him that. In fact, she was angry at him for getting sent to Juvie again in the first place. 

 

“Princessssss...” He singsonged and leaned in.

 

“What?” 

 

“Say it.

 

“Say what.”

 

“Say you missed me-” Duncan paused when he noticed the purple bruise marring her face. He remained silent as he brushed his thumb against her cheek. She involuntarily flinched. 

 

“What happened?” He asked in a voice so gentle, that it left Courtney caught off guard and unable to process what he had asked her. It wasn’t until he brushed his thumb over her cheek again that her stomach dropped and she remembered what she had done last night. 

 

“Nothing.” She got around him and went over to her closet, picking out an outfit for school. 

 

“Don’t lie to me Courtney.” She ignored him and his use of her actual name and escaped to the bathroom. She quickly looked in the mirror and saw that she did indeed have a bruise on her right cheek. It was nothing that some makeup couldn’t hide. 

 

She turned on the shower and reached to take off her top when she jumped at Duncan’s reappearance. 

 

“Go away you perv!” Duncan rolled his eyes.

 

“As much as it’s one of my biggest fantasies to see you naked, this isn’t about that. Courtney huffed and put her hands on her hips, daring him to say what she knew he would.

 

“You’re doing it again.” He accused.

 

“It’s none of your business.” Just then the door connecting to her sister’s room opened.

 

“Why are you so loud so early.” Cate complained sleepily with her eyes closed. Her dark brown hair in her face. 

 

“You can go back to bed for fifteen minutes Cate.” Cate leaned against the doorframe half awake; when she opened her eyes she noticed Duncan.

 

“Hey! You’re back from Juvie!” She exclaimed and went to hug him. He messed with her hair affectionately.

 

“How’s my favorite little sister?” Courtney cut in before Cate could answer, frustrated with both of them. 

 

“Can you two get out of the bathroom so that I can take a shower! We need to leave early so that I can talk to Mrs. Hanover.” 

 

“I’m not stopping you.” Duncan winked. 

 

“Can you at least wait until I leave to flirt with her?” Cate grimaced. 

 

“Can you both leave so that I can take a freaking shower!” Courtney yelled and pushed both of them in to Cate’s room and slammed the door in their faces. 

 

“The pole is extra far up her ass this morning.” Duncan commented. 

 

“You have no idea.”  

 

* * *

 

 

They pulled into the school parking lot at a rough stop that jolted the passengers in the car.

 

“Are you trying to kill us?” Cate shrieked and clutched the handle on the roof of the car.

 

“Seriously Princess, I’m all about taking risks but you completely blew through that last stop sign.” Courtney ignored them and ripped off her seat belt.

 

“No one was coming, and if you two weren’t dragging your feet then we would have been here ten minutes ago like I wanted!” 

 

“What is your deal? You’re more uptight than normal.” 

 

“I’m telling you, she’s been insufferable, probably because you were gone for so long ” Cate added smugly, taunting her big sister. Courtney scowled at Cate and grabbed her backpack. She reached for the door but Duncan leaned over her and held the door closed. 

 

“You go ahead, I gotta talk to Princess.” Duncan directed to Cate in the backseat. Cate looked back in speculation but left to get to her Freshman Health class. 

 

“I don’t have time for this Duncan!” Courtney squirmed and tried to get out of the car. There was only five minutes until the first bell and she still had to see her chemistry teacher.

 

“You’re gonna make time.” Duncan didn’t budge. Courtney huffed and ran her hands through her hair. 

 

“Fine! What is it that you want from me?” The sooner she appeased him the sooner she could reach her destination. 

 

“Don’t act like you don’t know.”  Duncan said sternly and waited expectantly for her to answer him. 

 

“You look like your dad when you talk like that.” Duncan immediately recoiled and had to check his reflection in the side mirror. Courtney took her opening and dashed out of the car. 

 

Once Duncan caught onto her deceit he darted after Courtney as she sped into the building. 

 

“That was low.” He kept up with her as she made sharp turns down the hallway. She was fast for someone who always wore heels.

 

“How about you show up to class early? Or I don’t know, actually go to class for once!” Courtney felt some relief when she finally got to the classroom she had sought out. As she was walking through the open doorway, Duncan yanked her back by the hand, and pulled her chest  flush against his. 

 

“Don’t.” Duncan stopped her attempt to lash out again. Courtney saw the seriousness in his eyes, he wasn’t playing around.

 

“Can we talk about this later?”She softened her voice and let the tension in her body drop but he stayed unmoved. 

 

“Please...” She added, knowing she wouldn’t be off the hook yet but hoped he would hear her desperation. He held her stare for a few moments then nodded. 

 

Just then Mrs. Hanover came through the door, almost bumping into the pair of teens.

 

“Mrs. Hanover I was just coming into the speak with you.” Courtney started. 

 

“I’m sure this is concerning your test grade.” The teacher wasn’t surprised to see Courtney and had anticipated that she would be coming to find a way to raise her grade. 

 

“Yes, is there anyway that I can retake the test or do any extra credit? I really don’t want one test to reflect poorly on my grade.” The older woman took in the sight of the delinquent standing next to the star pupil. It was a mystery to her how those two were friends, but it did present an opportunity for Courtney to make up her grade and to make her life a little easier. 

 

“I can give you the extra credit,” Courtney sighed in relief and already felt that her day was turning around “but you have to catch Duncan up on the material he’s missed in his class.” Courtney felt all the tension seize her muscles again. She was so screwed. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to those of you who read/left kudos!

 

Duncan was the absolute worst to tutor. She’d tried before. In second grade, when he had gotten sent to the principal’s office so many times that he’d missed most of the lessons on multiplication. In middle school, when he stopped writing papers for English and almost had to repeat seventh grade. Even freshman year, when he got sent to Juvie for the first time. 

 

It wasn’t that Duncan was stupid, he just didn’t want to apply himself to school, which made tutoring him frustrating and pointless. 

 

“But-” Courtney tried to reason with her teacher, but she didn’t budge. 

 

“Do you want the extra credit?” Mrs. Hanover asked.

 

“I do but-”

 

“Then it’s settled.” Mrs. Hanover ended the conversation abruptly and left to use the copy machine before class started. 

 

“Looks like we’re gonna get to spend more quality time together, Princess.” Duncan teased and put his arm around Courtney’s shoulders. She scoffed and shrugged him off. Frustrated, she stomped down the hallway in the direction of her first period class. He followed, much to her dismay. 

 

“You better at least try to do better in this class Duncan, because if my Chemistry grade goes down because of you I’m going to murder you.” 

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Duncan looked off down the hallway. Courtney was going to berate him for not giving this important matter his undivided attention but then understood when she saw Geoff, Bridgette, and DJ coming towards them. 

 

“Dude! You’re back!” Geoff took his arm from around Bridgette’s waist so that he and Duncan could pound fists. DJ was more enthusiastic with his affection and hugged Duncan, even going as far to lift him a foot off of the ground. Bridgette and Courtney exchanged a knowing look that came with years of knowing the three boys. They were inseparable, except for the times that Duncan got himself sent to Juvie.

 

“I thought you weren’t supposed to get out for another two weeks?” DJ asked when he put Duncan down. 

 

“I was, but my mom made my dad pull a few strings.” 

 

“That’s awesome dude, you know what this means?” Geoff hinted at, Duncan and the other teens already knew what Geoff was thinking. 

 

“Party this weekend?” You could already see the mischief on Duncan’s face at the idea. 

 

“Yes!” As Duncan and Geoff immediately began planning, with DJ brought into it without a choice; Bridgette kissed Geoff on the cheek, then headed down another hallway with Courtney. 

 

“So...how does it feel?” Bridgette kept her voice down incase of eavesdroppers. 

 

“How does what feel?” Courtney kept looking straight ahead with a blank expression on her face.

 

“You know...Duncan being back?” 

 

“Am I supposed to feel a particular way?”  Bridgette almost rolled her eyes at Courtney’s denial. 

 

“Really Court? Are you going do this every time?” Courtney didn’t respond, hoping that Bridgette would drop the subject. She didn’t.

 

“Just tell him alread-”

 

“Shh!” Courtney quieted her and looked around to make sure no one had heard. Courtney’s jaw clenched. Bridgette, the caring friend she was, always meant well but couldn’t she just leave her be? The pair of girls stopped where their paths divided. 

 

“I’m sure he missed you as much as you missed him.” A corner of Courtney’s mouth twitched for just a split second. It wasn’t a lot, but they had been friends long enough that Bridgette noticed when she was fighting a smile. 

 

“I plead the fifth.”  Then Courtney disappeared into her English class. 

 

* * *

 

 

“In combination chemical reactions, two or more reactants form one product...Duncan are you even listening?” 

 

“No.” Duncan continued to doodle in his notebook as they both sat at the desk in Courtney’s bedroom. She’d been trying to get Duncan back on track with the rest of his Chemistry 1 class for over an hour, but had made no progress. She tried a different approach and yanked him by his dog collar so that they were face to face.

 

“I’m not playing around with you Duncan, you might think this is stupid but I don’t, so could you please pull yourself together and be serious!” Instead of being bothered by her physical force, Duncan grinned.

 

“You’re lucky I’m into the kinky stuff.” Courtney huffed and pushed him back into his chair. “You wanna be serious?” He continued. 

 

If Courtney’s raised eyebrows could speak they would say ‘obviously’. 

 

“Then let’s get serious. Tell me why you hit yourself again.” Brown eyes widened at his blunt words. She was relieved that her parents weren’t home and that Cate was at a friend’s house. The last thing she needed was for them to overhear.

 

“We have a lot of work to get done.” Courtney turned away and flipped through the Chemistry textbook, closing herself off. He wouldn’t get it, no one would.

 

“You’re not changing the subject this time Princess.” He swiveled around her desk chair so that their knees were touching. She stared down at them and wouldn’t make eye contact. 

 

“What’s going on?” He asked less forcefully this time. Courtney knew how this worked by now, until she told him, he wouldn’t leave her be.

 

“I got an B minus on my Chem test, if you need to know so badly.” She spit out and tried to turn herself back around but he held her chair steady. 

 

“That’s it?”

 

“That’s it? Sure for you it’s nothing, you don’t give a damn about school, but some people care about their grades. Getting a B minus isn’t good enough.”  

 

“It’s not worth hurting yourself.” It wasn’t often that Duncan was this openly concerned and quite frankly it was making her nervous with the way he was looking at her. Besides, Courtney didn’t like to think of it as hurting herself, it was just something she did sometimes.

 

“Don’t try to tell me what to do!” She got defensive and raised her voice. 

 

“It’s not like you’d listen. No one knows better than you Courtney.” He yelled back sarcastically.

 

“Don’t. You have no idea what it’s like to be me.”

 

“Then tell me! Oh, wait that’s right! You have to be fucking perfect all the time! Can’t let anyone know that you have feelings!” 

 

“What’s the point of telling you! You’re just going to leave again!” She yelled across the small space between them. A moment too late Courtney realized what she’d said. 

 

“Never mind. Forget I said anything.” Duncan still kept her chair facing him but Courtney looked anywhere but at him. Duncan suddenly felt remorse for getting sent back to Juvie. To him it was more of a nuisance more than anything. A sentence that was a pain in the ass but it would pass, and then he’d go back to doing the same shit that got him sent there in the first place. 

 

“Why can’t you just stay out of trouble...” Courtney sighed. “You don’t have to convince everyone that you’re a bad guy.” 

 

“I am a bad guy.” Duncan insisted and Courtney gazed up from their laps to look at him skeptically. 

 

“I am!” 

 

“Sure you are.” Duncan sat up in his chair. Sometimes Courtney did this thing where she would throw it in his face that she knew who he really was. That she knew him better than anyone. In those moments Duncan always felt like he had to ruffle her feathers a little bit. Courtney sat back in her chair until there was no where else to go as Duncan caged her in. 

 

“Want me to prove it.” He threatened, and lowered his voice, making it hard for her to find her’s. This wasn’t the first time they’d toed the line between just friends and more. This wasn’t the first time that the tension that was always there came to the forefront. 

 

“Go ahead.” Courtney countered calling his bluff. She batted her eyelashes innocently and dared him to do something. Duncan kept his eyes fixated on her face, trying to tell if she meant it. She was right where he wanted her and yet, he couldn’t. 

 

He slumped back into his chair and ran a hand threw his mohawk. 

 

“You’re such a pain.” Courtney’s face glowed with victory and Duncan couldn’t find it in him to be mad because she was so beautiful when she smiled. 

 

“Now, what’s it’s going to take for you to learn any of this.” She gestured to the textbook open on her desk. 

 

Not only did Duncan have no interest in learning any more Chemistry for the day, but it was his first day back to school and he already couldn’t wait until the weekend; which gave him an idea. 

 

“I have a proposition for you, I will be your star pupil for the rest of the week if...”

 

“I’m listening...” Courtney was wary of what his terms were, Duncan’s good behavior never came free. 

 

“If you go to Geoff’s party.” 

 

“No.” 

 

“I thought you wanted that extra credit?” One thing that Courtney didn’t count on was that Duncan knew her just as well as she knew him. He could see her weighing what was at stake. 

 

“You have to get an A on your Chem quiz on Friday.” She gave him her terms. 

 

“C.” He countered. 

 

“A minus.” 

 

“B plus.”

 

“Deal.” Courtney solidified the wager and put her hand out. Duncan gladly shook it and smirked. She should really know by now not to underestimate him. 

 

* * *

 

 

It was turning out to be a good day. The stress that had started on Monday, from how poorly she had done on her exam, had mostly dissipated. In addition to tutoring Duncan, Courtney had done an extensive amount of studying for her own Chemistry class, making Mrs. Hanover’s usual Friday quiz an easy A. Everything was starting to feel like it was falling back into place. As she took the appropriate books out of her locker, she planned how to manage her time this weekend so that she could finish her English paper, study for the SATs and still catch that documentary on cold cases. Courtney almost had it all pre-scheduled in her head when something that was dangled in front of her face interrupted her.

 

“Take a good look, Princess.” She grabbed the paper out of Duncan’s hand, confused for a moment at what she was looking at, then saw the big numbers written on top of the page in red ink. 

 

“No...” She said with dread. Eighty-eight percent. Shit. 

 

“How?” Courtney looked over the quiz in disbelief and doubled checked that there wasn’t a mistake. 

 

“Guess I have a pretty good tutor.” Duncan leaned his shoulder against the lockers and watched Courtney soak it up.

 

“Now you have to hold up your end of the bargain.” 

 

“But, but-”

 

“But what?” Duncan taunted her, a giant smile on his face. 

 

“You weren’t supposed to be able to do it!”

 

“Wow, I’m hurt Courtney, have you no faith in me at all.” Courtney ignored his act and finished acquiring the books she needed and shoved them into her backpack. She slammed the door hard, the metal shaking with its force. 

 

“Whoa, what’s going on?” Bridgette and Geoff, like the matched set they were, stopped in front of Duncan and Courtney. Duncan was the one to answer Bridgette.

 

“Princess and I made a bet and now she doesn’t want to pay up.” 

 

“What was the bet?” Geoff asked, amused to what Duncan had gotten Courtney to agree to. Courtney’s jaw was clenched so hard that she couldn’t speak. 

 

“If I did good on my Chem quiz-”

 

“Done _well_!” Courtney corrected, Duncan gave her the side eye and continued.

 

“Then she had to go to your party.” 

 

“Court, you’re coming to the party?” Geoff was thrilled, Courtney hadn’t gone to one of his parties since eighth grade and now they were into the spring of their junior year of High School. 

 

“It’s not fair! I was tricked!”

 

“C’mon Court it will be fun!” Bridgette interjected and put a hand on Courtney’s shoulder to calm her down.

 

“She’s just afraid she’ll like it and it will ruin her good-girl image.” 

 

“No, I’m not! I just don’t want to. It’s immature.”

 

“Sure.”  Bridgette knew exactly what Duncan was doing. If he challenged Courtney that she wouldn’t do something, then she would be hell bent on proving she could. It had been this way since they were in daycare. 

 

“Please, like it’s hard to go get drunk and act like Neanderthals.” 

 

“Hard for you.” Courtney couldn’t back down from the challenge.

 

“Ugh! Fine! I’ll be there, but I’m only staying for an hour!” Geoff held up his fist and Duncan bumped it.

 

“Where are you going?” Cate asked a she approached the juniors. Usually Courtney would be waiting for her by the car by now and when she wasn’t there she wondered if she had some club meeting Cate had forgotten about.

 

“She’s going to Geoff’s party.” Duncan answered smugly. Cate’s face lit up.

 

“You are? Now I have a ride!”

 

“You’re not going.” Courtney hissed at her.

 

“What? Yes, I am! Geoff invited me!” 

 

“Yeah, of course little sis is allowed to come.” Geoff assured. 

 

“Last time I checked she’s MY little sister, and she’s only fourteen.” 

 

“I’ll be fifteen in like a month!” Cate argued.

 

“I don’t care. You’re not going. End of story.” Courtney was used to discipling Cate, with how much their parents worked, she often took on the job of being a third parent.

 

“Are you kidding me?” Cate all but stomped her feet. 

 

“Maybe I should run it by Mom and Dad that you want to go to a party where there will be drugs and alcohol.”

 

“And I’ll tell them that you’re going!” Cate had her there and she knew it.

 

“Please Coco?” Cate pouted and used the nickname she made for her when she was a baby and couldn’t say Courtney. A few moments passed where Courtney weighed the pros and cons. 

 

“We’ll talk about it in the car.” Courtney ended the conversation, but Cate knew that meant that she’d get her way. Courtney pulled her younger sister down the hall, knowing that her perfect plans for weekend were ruined.

 

“I’ll call you later Court!” Bridgette yelled down the hall then turned to Duncan.

 

“You’re the worst.” She joked, grateful that for once her best friend would act her own age.

 

“I know.” Duncan replied triumphantly. Suddenly, tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Saturday night had come too fast. Somehow as much as Courtney prayed that they would get a blizzard in the middle of April, which wasn’t too unlikely for Canada, there was no threat of bad weather in sight. Not that it would’ve stopped Geoff’s party from happening. He would just tell everyone to snowboard on over. 

 

“We’re only staying for an hour, tops.” Courtney told Cate as they walked into Geoff’s house. Courtney looked around with the expected amount of disgust. Upon her first glance it was everything Courtney thought it would be. 

 

The party was in full swing. There was electronic music playing by an artist that she’d never heard of, the scent of beer and liquor in the air, and teenagers doing various activities she frowned upon like playing beer pong and making out in public. Of course Lindsay and Tyler were among the people making out. They’d been dating for a month and Lindsay still couldn’t remember his name half of the time.

 

It was packed. Geoff’s parties were always open invitation. He was such a chill dude and was friends with everyone. All Courtney could think was that this was going to be a nightmare to clean up, and hope that for Bridgette’s sake Geoff wouldn’t be grounded until eternity if his parents found out. Speak of the devil, because Bridgette threw her arms around her.

 

“You came!” Bridgette was giddy and had a red solo cup of beer in hand. When she stepped back she looked Courtney up and down and almost spilled her drink as she gestured. 

 

“Look at you!” 

 

“The most she would let me do is curl her hair and put on mascara.” Cate exasperatedly complained. Courtney didn’t see the point in looking any different than she normally did. She’d put on a pair of jeans for once but wasn’t going to make an effort when this was going to be a quick trip. 

 

“You’re lucky I let you leave the house in that skirt.” Courtney admonished Cate but Cate had spotted some of her friends and left without heading her words. 

 

“C’mon Courtney loosen up! I’m so happy that you’re here!” Bridgette was definitely tipsy but Courtney still appreciated the sentiment. “And I know there’s someone else who’s been waiting all night for you to get here.” 

 

Courtney already knew who she was referring too and rolled her eyes. 

 

“Well, I’m not staying for long.” Bridgette either didn’t hear her over the noise or chose not to listen, because she took her hand and guided her through the crowd until they had gotten to the kitchen. 

 

“Babe, this girl needs a drink!” Bridgette called to Geoff who was uncapping a beer for himself. 

 

“That won’t be necessary Bridge, I’m driving.” But Geoff was already handing her some concoction. 

 

“Just have one drink now and you’ll be sober by the time you leave.” Geoff encouraged and Courtney took the drink. She had every intention of pouring it out into the nearest plant when no one was looking. 

 

“So where’s the delinquent so can I prove that I’m here?” 

 

“He’s around here somewhere.” Geoff scanned the crowd until he caught the sight of green hair. 

 

“There he is!” Courtney followed his line of sight to see Duncan with his arm resting on a wall, the other holding a cigarette. She was mostly used to the bad habit by now, but the senior girl he was with, that was so obviously flirting with him, caught her off guard. The girl acted familiar with him. Her hand was on is shoulder and she kept whispering in his ear. Her short and tight dress showed off her long legs and if she bent over she would be exposing herself. Courtney tightened her hand, unconsciously crushing her cup. Some liquid spilled over onto the floor.

 

“Court!” Bridgette warned loudly and Courtney drew her attention to the mess. 

 

“Shit, sorry Geoff.” Courtney hurried to find paper towels.

 

“No worries I’ll get it later.” Geoff assured her. Courtney wasn’t one to just be able to ignore a mess but Duncan heard the commotion and was staring right at her. 

 

She wasn’t jealous. She wasn’t. So it couldn’t have been jealously that made her clean her hand by sucking on her fingers. She told herself it wasn’t because she was jealous. Couldn’t be, but it was so satisfying when the senior girl, Amanda was her name if she recalled correctly,   looked offended that she’d lost his attention. 

 

It was even more satisfying when he ditched Amanda for her. 

 

“Can’t believe you actually came.”

 

“Not like I had a choice.” He looked genuinely happy to see her, so much so that his lingering smile was making her face tingle unexpectedly. 

 

“So what is it that you do at these things?” Courtney asked and waited for specific instructions. 

 

“There’s not an itinerary Princess, then again you don’t know how to have fun.” 

 

“Just because my idea of fun isn’t the same as your’s-”

 

“Your idea of fun isn’t the same as anyone’s-”  Bridgette stepped between them.

 

“I know what we can do!” It wouldn’t be the first time Bridgette intervened when Duncan and Courtney started going at it, it was in her nature to be the peacemaker. Besides, a little friendly competition would occupy both of them.

 

* * *

 

A table was set up in the kitchen with teams on opposing sides. Everyone that was playing at the ready. Dj was watching closely by as the designated referee. 

 

“One...two...three...go!” Dj prompted the teens to start chugging their drinks, LeShawna for the girl’s team and Owen for the boy’s. Down at the end of table, Duncan and Courtney were the last ones up for their teams.

 

“Sure you can handle this?” Courtney rolled her eyes at his attempt psych her out. 

 

“If you’re trying to distract me it’s not going to work.” She trained her eyes on Bridgette, her whole body itching with anticipation. There was such a rush that went through her anytime she faced a competition, even if it was one as trivial at Flip Cup, it didn’t matter, she wanted to win. 

 

On Bridgette’s second try her cup landed face down and Courtney let go of her inhibitions and downed the contents of her cup. She had started drinking before Duncan and was sure she would be victorious. 

 

That was until he’d somehow flipped his cup before her. 

 

“What! No way!” Courtney exclaimed in outrage.

 

“Sorry Court, the boys are really good at this game.” Bridgette tried to reassure her that the chances of them winning weren’t high to begin with. 

 

“Malibu’s right, you didn’t stand a chance.” Duncan rubbed it in her face but Courtney wasn’t a quitter. 

 

“I demand a rematch!” 

 

“Courtney are you sure you want to-” Dj butt in, worried for Courtney’s lack of alcohol tolerance. 

 

“I’m sure. Let’s go!”

 

Three more games later and the girls still hadn’t won. 

 

“Face it Princess, you’re not gonna win this one.” Nevertheless, Courtney was relentless, and even if she didn’t have an advantage, she wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off of Duncan’s face.

 

“One more game.” Courtney narrowed her eyes at him. “This time, we start.”

 

“Whatever. It won’t change anything.”  They set up the game one more time and Dj reluctantly counted down again. Courtney eyes bore into Duncan’s as they both chugged and finished at the same time, but as Courtney went to flip her cup she made a point of bending over the table enough so that Duncan could see down her top.  

 

Duncan froze, his cup on the edge of the table poised to be flipped perfectly into place. She wouldn’t stoop that low would she? This was Courtney. The same Courtney who said women shouldn’t use their sexuality to get ahead. No way that she would do just that; but from Duncan’s point of view he could see her light pink bra and her full cleavage. Then she looked up at him with that not so innocent smile, and before he knew it she had flipped her cup. 

 

“Dude!” Geoff prompted and Duncan came out of the trance. He struggled with his cup, overshooting and then undershooting. By the time Geoff got to start drinking, LeShawna flipped her cup and the girls were celebrating their victory. 

 

“What happened bro?” Geoff asked Duncan, more concerned than upset at the loss. 

 

“She cheated.” Duncan accused loudly enough for Courtney to hear him.

 

“Did I? Can you prove it?” Courtney raised her eyebrows expectantly, that same innocent look on her face. Admittedly the alcohol made her do it. With her inhibitions lowered and her need to win growing, it felt like a good idea at the time. Plus, Duncan’s face was priceless and she didn’t mind the attention when it was coming from him... 

 

Duncan wasn’t about to tell Geoff or anyone else how easily he’d gotten distracted by barely getting a glimpse of her chest. He still had the image in his head and that alone was making it hard for him to think straight. 

 

“You look a little frustrated. Maybe you need to cool off.” She really needed to be taught a lesson. 

 

“Cool off you say?” Courtney was all smug smiles until Duncan picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

 

“What are you doing!”  She cried out as he took her from the kitchen to the backyard. The air was chilly as it whipped Courtney’s hair into her face, obstructing her view. When she was able to tuck it behind her ears she saw that they were standing in front of the pool. 

 

“Don’t you dare! Duncan. No. This isn’t funny.” She pleaded as she tried to get free.

 

“But I thought I needed to cool off.” Duncan took a step closer, not even minding how her nails dug into his back.

 

“I didn’t mean literally! You’ve made your point, now put me down!” 

 

“Put you down?” He tilted them towards the water as if he was going to throw her in.

 

“Duncan this isn’t a joke! The water is freezing!”

 

“Maybe you should have thought of that before.” Duncan was getting a kick of out this but Courtney had learned her lesson so he put her down. Although, he hadn’t accounted for it being Courtney’s first time drinking and not being stable on her feet. As soon as she was upright again, the alcohol hit her. She swayed to one side and grabbed onto Duncan, and they both splashed into the pool. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be going up in rating after this chapter, either M or E


	4. Chapter 4

Nothing sobered you up faster than being submerged in frigid water. 

 

“This is all your fault!” Courtney ground out between chattering teeth. 

 

“I was never going to throw you in, but little miss lightweight couldn’t keep her balance.” 

 

“Shut up!” Courtney threw a soaking wet boot at him that he dodged with ease. After the incident Geoff told them they could borrow some of his clothes in his bedroom and dry off. 

 

“You started this, if you hadn’t given me a peep show this would have never happened!” Duncan’s shirt hit the floor with a wet plop. 

 

 Courtney wrung out her hair, too angry to care that she was getting water all over Geoff’s bedroom carpet. “That wasn’t intentional.”

 

“Bullshit.” Courtney didn’t want to stick around any longer. She’d come to the party like she said she would and now she was soaked and shivering. The last thing she needed was an interrogation.

 

“I’m going home.” She was avoiding the subject but Duncan stood in front of the door and blocked her path. 

 

“Admit you did it on purpose.”  Courtney crosser her arms and narrowed her eyes.

 

“Why would I do that on purpose?” 

 

“Because you’ll do anything to win,” then he dared to add “and because you wanted me to see.” 

 

“That’s ridiculous.” Duncan took a step closer and lowered his voice.  

 

“So, you’re trying to tell me that you didn’t know that I’d get caught off guard by your perfect tits and get caught up in imagining all the things I want to do to you...” Courtney swallowed and tried to keep a straight face.

 

“Yes...” Duncan had had enough of Courtney acting like there wasn’t something between them. Like there hadn’t been for years, something that went beyond just friends, because you don’t have this kind of tension with someone who’s just your friend. 

 

“Whatever you say Courtney.” He bluntly ended the conversation and stepped away from the door; allowing her to leave if that’s what she really wanted. 

 

Courtney bit her lip. She didn’t mean to hurt him, but what did it mean for them if what he said was right? 

 

“I’ll change first, I don’t want to get sick by staying in wet clothes.” She didn’t get an answer. He was mad at her.

 

Courtney kept her back to him as she peeled off her shirt. Goosebumps covered her skin as it hit the air. Next she undid her jeans while trying to ignore the awkward silence that filled the room. The quicker she changed the quicker she could find Cate and leave. She tugged on her wet pants but they wouldn’t budge. Courtney tried again with no success then attempted wiggling around as she pulled to see if that helped. It didn’t.The soaked material was stuck to her skin. 

 

Duncan had no trouble getting his own pants off and with his back to her, heard her struggling.  “What are you doing?”

 

“I’m stuck.” Courtney held the waistband of her jeans and jumped a bit but the force wasn’t enough to make much progress. “I’m really stuck.” 

 

“Serves you right.” Courtney considered how uncomfortable it would be to drive home in wet pants and sighed. She didn’t have many options. 

 

“Can you help me...” 

 

Duncan didn’t think that he’d heard her right but then she added in a quiet “please.” 

 

He tried to keep his composure as he turned around but immediately had to clench his jaw. He’d seen girls in bras before, he’d seen girls in nothing, but Courtney was different. He wasn’t sure if he could pull this off without staring.

 

As he got closer to her he could see that her hardened nipples were poking through her bra from the cold. Duncan diverted his eyes and kneeled in front of her. He took the edge of her jeans in his hands and pulled them just barely over her hips before they stopped. 

 

“Hold on to the bedpost.” This was definitely not what he had pictured when undressing Courtney for the first time. Even so, his hands on her hips, and his face two inches away from her matching pink underwear with a that cute little bow on the front, was intoxicating all the same. 

 

Despite his strength, the curve of her hips and bottom, along with the wet denim, was what was making this so difficult. 

 

“Can I?” Duncan gestured to the back of her jeans. Courtney nodded hesitantly and placed her other hand on his shoulder for leverage. 

 

There was no way for him to do this without touching her in someway, and he wanted to so badly. Ever since he’d realized he had feelings for her, he thought about doing just this. As he worked the material down her body, his knuckles brushed against the sides of her bottom leaving pleasant tingles in their wake. Duncan wanted so badly to reach forward to kiss her stomach but knew his boundaries. 

 

He tugged rather roughly to shake himself of his temptations, and the material finally pooled at her ankles. 

 

Courtney expected to do the rest herself, but Duncan gestured for her to sit on the bed. It was hard to breath when Duncan gently slid each pant leg over her feet, even harder because he was so concentrated on his task. When he was done he looked up at her from where he was on the floor to find that she had been closely watching. She shivered when he caught her gaze.

 

“Cold?” Courtney nodded, although the cold was the last thing on her mind. They were half naked and all she could think about was how she should be nervous, and she was, but mostly she just wanted him closer. The silence was only making the tension worse.

 

“I think I got the full High School party experience. I drank, I made a fool out of myself, I’m surprised I didn’t puke...” She joked lightly. “Overall, I checked all the boxes.”

 

“No, you didn’t.” Duncan corrected and Courtney tilted her head to the side. “You didn’t hook up with anyone.” He finished.

 

There was no smirk or sly glance, no wink or raise of his eyebrows. He only stared into her eyes openly waiting, as his handle gently caressed her knees. Courtney raised a hand to push the damp green hair out of his face and let her hand linger on his cheek. Three whole beats passed, then she kissed him. 

 

Their kiss began softly, but that didn’t last long and soon their lips overlapped each other’s with urgency. Duncan’s tongue licked her lips and Courtney opened her mouth eagerly. When their tongues touched she gasped at the intense pleasure that hit her like a wave. She had to pull away to catch her breath and Duncan exhaled heavily. 

 

Courtney looked between them and noticed Duncan’s proof of arousal straining against his boxers. 

 

“Sorry...” Duncan started to retreat, worried that he’d scared her. Courtney used both hands to hold his face and keep him close then laid back on the bed and pulled him on top of her. 

 

“Don’t hold back.” She told him and kissed his jaw.

 

“I don’t know if you can handle that Princess.” The mischievous light returned to his eyes. 

 

“Try me.” Courtney followed her instincts. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled his body flush against her’s as their mouths met again. Duncan’s excited hands were everywhere at once. He palmed her breast through her bra with one hand and had the other underneath them to squeeze her ass. 

 

Courtney raked her nails through his hair and down his back only pausing to gasp against his mouth when something felt good, but everything felt good. When she lifted her hips and his cock rubbed against her clit, Duncan pulled back in surprise. 

 

He admired her flushed face and half lidded eyes, before grinding against her and watching the way her eyes rolled back. He thought he’d never seen something so mesmerizing and continued the motion just to watch her and hear her moan, knowing that it was because of him. 

 

He would cum if he kept this up but her sounds were like a song. Then she whispered the words that he only ever dreamed of hearing. 

 

“Make love to me.” Duncan looked for any sign that she wasn’t serious but found none. Quickly, he reached into Geoff’s nightstand where he knew he kept the condoms. 

 

This was becoming a reality so fast.

 

 “We don’t have to.” They had gone further in the past ten minutes than he thought in the realm of possibilities. 

 

“I want to.”  

 

Just as they began to kiss again the door swung open. The senior that Duncan had been talking to earlier stared in shock at their compromising position. Then she was gone before either of them could stop her, but they could hear yelling to everyone.

 

“Guess who I just walked in on losing her virginity!” 

 


	5. Chapter 5

She could feel them staring and hear the whispers. She heard them when she raced out of Geoff’s house after throwing on some clothes and grabbing Cate; they looked at her in shock as she held back tears. She could hear them again now as she sat in English class on Monday morning. When she had gotten to school the walk down the hallway was as if she was under a microscope. Her classmates spoke like she wasn’t within hearing distance. 

 

_They were fucking when she walked in._

 

_I heard they’ve been doing it since freshman year._

 

_Apparently she’s a screamer._

 

Courtney had heard it all and it was only first period. She breathed in and out deeply to try to slow down her heart rate as her nails dug into her palms to keep them from shaking. Her brown eyes bore into the whiteboard as she tried to block it all out. 

 

A stack of small blue notebooks, that the school provided for written tests, was placed on her desk, drawing her attention.

 

“Take one and pass it back.” Her English professor prompted. Courtney turned around in her desk to do as she was told and was met with Heather’s smiling face.

 

“Not so ‘holier than thou’ as we all thought huh? Don’t worry about it though, everyone has their shortcomings.” Heather faked sincerity as she took the booklets from Courtney. Courtney wasn’t so bothered that Heather was being mean, that’s just how Heather was. She was more affected by what she said. 

 

She was ruined. Her reputation down the drain. She had prided herself on being the prime example of a model student. In one night her model student status had been reduced to that of the school slut. 

 

Courtney’s vision went hazy as her thoughts began to spiral. As the professor wrote the essay questions on Shakespeare's _Macbeth_ on the board, her heart beat faster and faster. Her professor saying ‘you may begin’ sounded so far away. She tried to focus and opened her notebook. 

 

The questions on the board were all ones she knew the answers to, but when she put her pencil to paper she couldn’t organize her thoughts. Her brain kept jumping around and when she tried to recall quotes from the reading she was answered with the rumors spreading around about her. 

 

But she had to do this. She had to prove she was still that model student despite what everyone was saying about her. 

 

Before she knew it the bell rang. She frantically scribbled down her last sentence and scanned over her essay. Usually she was done with at least fifteen minutes to spare. As she left the class, instead of turning down the correct hallway to her Calculus classroom she made a bee line for the girls bathroom. 

 

She upheaved the contents of her stomach into the toilet of the first stall and gagged until nothing else came out. After she left the stall she immediately received looks from a couple of sophomores. Courtney kept her eyes ahead as she washed her hands but their murmurs weren’t lost on her. Right as she was about to leave she heard one of their comments.

 

“She’s probably pregnant.” Courtney turned around wildly.

 

“Do you have something to say!” The sophomore looked back in fear at her outburst and shook her head quickly. 

 

“Good! Then get out!” She screamed and they all scurried past her. Courtney kept her back against the door. She looked up to the ceiling and fought back the stinging sensation of tears prickling her eyes. She’d cried enough Saturday night after she had ignored Cate’s questions about if it was true, and if she was okay. She’d slammed her bedroom door in her face and wept under her covers where no one could hear her. 

 

Courtney wasn’t going to give anyone the satisfaction of making her cry again and slapped her cheek with an open palm. The pain was something else to focus on besides her humiliation and she hit herself again. The late bell rang and Courtney felt her frustration boil over. This time her fist collided with the bathroom wall. 

 

Courtney winced and brought her hand to her face. Her knuckles were already bruising. She pretended it didn’t hurt as she opened the bathroom door and thought up an excuse for why she was late. She just had to make it though six more periods.  

 

When she opened the door and briskly stepped out she collided with someone. Courtney was already too annoyed to make a real apology and grumbled a quick ‘sorry’ but the person held by the shoulders. 

 

“I tried calling you... and texted...” Duncan sounded embarrassed to confess that he had spent the rest of Saturday night and the majority of Sunday trying to contact her. It wasn’t his style but he was worried, and he hoped that there was still a chance for them. 

 

“I don’t have anything to say to you.” It was harsh, even to her own ears, but the words kept pouring out. 

 

“This would have never happened if you hadn’t made me go to that stupid party. My reputation is ruined and it’s all your fault!” She knew that wasn’t true as she pushed him away from her, but it felt better to put the blame on someone else. 

 

“Who cares what anyone says, they don’t matter.” 

 

“Easy for you to say, you’re probably getting high fives and pats on the back while I’m the skank who spread her legs for you.” 

 

“We know it wasn’t like that. You know people make shit up.” Through her rage Duncan could see how hurt she was and reached out to console her. She recoiled from his touch.

 

“Don’t touch me! I don’t want you to touch me ever again.” She pushed past Duncan without looking back.

* * *

 

Duncan blew out a long puff of smoke as he sat on the curb outside of the school building. 

 

“I can’t believe it.” Gwen said between drags. “I really need to take up Geoff’s offer and go to his parties one of these days.” Duncan ran a hand through his hair and huffed. 

 

“She hates me.” 

 

“She doesn’t hate you.” Gwen tried to reassure him although Duncan wasn’t convinced. 

 

“I ruined her reputation.” 

 

“Why can’t girls hook up without automatically being labeled a slut, yet guys can fuck whoever they want? Besides, everyone knows you and Courtney have been obsessed with each other since daycare.”

 

“Not obsessed.” Gwen turned to him with a deadpan expression on her pale face. Duncan chose to blow smoke out of his nose instead of giving her any recognition. 

 

“It’ll blow over.” Gwen nudged Duncan with her elbow. Being long time friends meant that she could tell when he was genuinely upset, even if he wouldn’t say. “So...how was it...” Gwen nudged him again, this time with a knowing smile. 

 

“Up until we were interrupted it was...” Duncan drifted off when he started to recall Courtney’s skin against his, her legs around his waist, how her body reacted to his so perfectly; their chemistry was off the charts. 

 

Gwen watched as Duncan got this big goofy grin on his face. 

 

“Ew, forget I asked.” Duncan glared. 

 

“And just where were you Saturday night?” Gwen instantly started to go red and turned her face down. She mumbled something under her breath that Duncan heard but made her repeat anyway. 

 

“I was with Trent!” 

 

“And I’m the obsessed one.” Duncan laughed, Gwen may be all frowns and darkness but she had a weak spot for Trent. Gwen stood up and brushed off her skirt.

 

“C’mon we gotta go to art class,” she stomped out her cigarette, “just make her talk to you, that usually works.” 

* * *

 

 

Courtney had made it through the day, almost. After her run in with Duncan the rest of her classes had gone like the first. People staring, students whispering, even a few teachers had given her a concerned glance from overhearing the school’s gossip. It was much of the same and by the end of seventh period, she just wanted to go home. Even so, she held her head high. She wouldn’t let them know they got to  her. 

 

She started to walk around a corner of the hallway when she heard her name pop up in a conversation on the other side of the hall, and abruptly stopped.

 

“Trust me, they were practically doing it when I walked in, he had a condom ready and everything.”

 

Courtney quickly peaked around the corner to confirm her suspicions that it was that same senior Amanda, who was the true source of her humiliation. Courtney stayed hidden to continue to eavesdrop, but had to silence her reaction to jump when she felt someone’s hand on her arm. 

 

“Court I’ve been looking for you all day-” 

 

“Shh!” Courtney whispered putting her index finger to her mouth. Bridgette had searched for Courtney in all their usual meeting spots throughout the day but she was nowhere to be found. Bridgette was really concerned about her, especially when the only text back she had gotten the day before only said ‘I’m fine.’ Then with everything being spread around about her today, she was worried. 

 

Courtney bent forward to get as close as possible without being seen and Bridgette curiously followed.

 

“The whole school knows now.” One of Amanda’s friends shamelessly pointed out.

 

“Oops.” Amanda laughed and her friends giggled along with her. Courtney’s blood began to boil. She’d had it. Next thing she knew she had rounded the corner and was face to face with Amanda.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you? You think you can just go around broadcasting people’s business?” Bridgette was close behind her and tried to get Courtney to back down. 

 

“C’mon Courtney it’s not worth it, let’s go.” At this point Courtney didn’t care, she was furious. Amanda rolled her eyes and twirled a piece of blonde hair.

 

“Oh please, what are you going to do about it? You wouldn’t dare do anything that could get you into trouble.” 

 

“Don’t underestimate me.” Courtney stepped closer and Bridgette tugged on Courtney’s arm.

 

“If you want to leave, then go Bridgette.” Bridgette didn’t budge, but did take out her phone and sent out a quick emergency text. Amanda took a slight step back from Courtney but didn’t stop antagonizing her.

 

“Go ahead, prove me wrong, it would at least give some reason for why Duncan would be into you.” 

 

“Is that what this is about?” Courtney thought back to how Duncan had been flirting with Amanda at the party until she showed up. “You ruined my name because Duncan ditched you at the party? Just because you were jealous?” 

 

“Jealous? Don’t think you’re that special, you’re just another notch in his bedpost.” That struck a cord with Courtney, it was enough to make her see red and tackle her to the ground causing the other girls to look on in disbelief.

 

“Get off of me!” Amanda yelled and scratched at Courtney but Courtney was stronger than she looked. When filled with this much rage, she was almost unstoppable. She wanted to get just one good hit in, enough to teach her a lesson.

 

Unfortunately she didn’t get that small bit of vengeance she craved because Courtney was physically pulled off right as she took a swing at her. Courtney kicked and flailed but she was held tightly around her waist. Amanda stood up and brushed herself off, a triumphant smirk on her lips.

 

“Get lost.” Duncan, who still had Courtney firmly in his grasp, directed toward Amanda and her little group of friends. 

 

“You used to love my company remember?” As angry as Courtney was that gained her attention and she stopped struggling to look at Amanda. 

 

“Oh, she doesn’t know?” It didn’t take a lot for Courtney to put the pieces together. It all made sense now. Courtney broke free of Duncan’s grasp and retrieved her backpack that had fallen to the floor in the chaos. 

 

“Don’t follow me.” Courtney harshly threw over her shoulder as she left the scene. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this makes up for how long it’s taken to me update?

There were certain things that Courtney and Duncan never talked about. Like that summer before seventh grade when Courtney couldn’t swim at the beach because she had gotten her period for the first time. Another was when Duncan’s dad had yelled at him in front of all their friends for setting off fireworks in their back yard and had called him a ‘disappointment’. 

 

There were just things that happened that they didn’t dwell on and the main one was Duncan’s sex life. It was common knowledge that Duncan hooked up from time to time.

 

So when Amanda made it known that she and Duncan used to fuck around, she had made the fragile state of his friendship- or whatever they were-with Courtney even more so fragile.

 

Duncan gave her time to blow off steam. Trying to talk to her when her anger was fresh would get them nowhere and they’d end up in a screaming match. Instead, Duncan waited until it was past ten o’clock at night to sneak in through her bedroom window. He could hear classical music playing softly from outside, signaling that she must be studying. The music didn’t drown out the noise of him opening her window though.

 

“Go home.” Courtney spoke curtly without looking up from her notebook.

 

“No.” Courtney put her pencil down and turned to Duncan with narrowed brown eyes.

 

“What do you want from me?” Defeat creeped into her words as the mental and emotional exhausted continued to set in. Duncan sighed and pulled her out of her chair by her hands.

 

“C’mon.” He started walking back toward the window he’d come from. 

 

“Where are we going?” 

 

“It’s cold, grab a sweater.” He was halfway through the window and climbing onto tree branch outside her bedroom. Courtney huffed noncommittally and put on one of the only hooded sweatshirts that she owned. It wasn’t until she was taking his hand as he helped her onto the branches that she realized that the sweater she was wearing was one of his.

 

Courtney followed him up onto the roof. She dared not look over the edge as she settled down next to him. 

 

They hadn’t done this in a while. When they were kids Duncan would coax Courtney up onto the roof; usually by calling her a scaredy cat until she would do it despite being afraid of heights and the potential danger. Then they’d look at clouds and point out different shapes or watch the sunset, or look at stars. Sometimes they’d talk. Sometimes they’d just sit in silence, like they were right now. 

 

Courtney had forgotten how peaceful it was up here. Staring up at the night sky freckled with stars made her feel like for the first time today she could breathe again. She’d laid her back down against the cool roof and picked out constellations.

 

“Right there...” She pointed to a group of stars, “that’s Ursa Major and that bit at the end that makes up the tail and part of the body is the Big Dipper-” Duncan took her hand that was pointed up at the sky and held it in his. She silenced at the contact and kept her eyes up at the stars. Duncan exhaled three times before he got the words out.

 

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.” Courtney’s chest shallowly rose and fell. He didn’t give any further explanation but she understood.

 

“I know it wasn’t your fault...” Courtney replied quietly. Duncan’s eyes widened. 

 

“Did you just say that something’s not my fault?” Courtney rolled her eyes.

 

“Statistically not everything can be your fault Duncan, but it usually is.”  Whose fault it was got her thinking about Amanda again and what she said earlier. 

 

“Am I...” she hated how insecure this was going to sound, “never mind.” 

 

“I said my feelings thing now it’s your turn.” They both sucked at telling people how they felt, at being vulnerable. 

 

“Am I just another notch in your bedpost?

 

“You’re insane.” 

 

Courtney pulled her hand away and crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s a valid question.” 

 

He sat up on his elbow to stare at her like she had told him a bad joke but Courtney stayed with her arms cross and face serious. 

 

“You don’t get it, do you?” Duncan shook his head and went back to his previous position.  

 

“You’re not a notch in my bedpost...you’re the whole damn bed.” 

 

“I don’t think that phrase makes sense.” 

 

“You know what I mean.” Duncan said exasperatedly, he wasn’t the metaphor type, but he made the effort. 

 

She’d spent so much time being ashamed and angry and upset that  Courtney hadn’t thought much about how she felt about what happened between her and Duncan. How enamored she was with how hesitant he was even when she’d initiated the kiss, and how he went off of her cues. The fire that roared inside of her when they were intertwined. How his touch affected her so greatly. She wanted him, she wanted to be his completely in that moment and despite everything that followed, she still did. 

 

“It’s late...” Courtney stated and squeezed Duncan’s hand. He lead the way down the tall maple and back to her window. He made sure she got inside safely by entering first. Courtney let him coddle her, even though she was agile and more than capable. 

 

Her studying music still played while her room was only illuminated by her desk lamp. 

 

“Sure you’re gonna make it tomorrow without precisely eight hours of sleep?” His jibe didn’t land because Courtney was to busy staring at how the light casting shadows around the room made him even more attractive. Courtney placed open palms on his chest that made their way to the back of his neck where she could feel the hairs on end.

 

“Stay? Just until I fall asleep.” Courtney looked up through her eyelashes and smiled while her thumbs brushed against his neck. Duncan didn’t think twice about the opportunity to cuddle up with her and followed suit when she kicked off her shoes and got under the covers. He wrapped his arms around her as they spooned, his nose buried in her hair and picking up on the scent of lavender. 

 

Courtney relaxed into him and tried to let the weight of day leave her. She was hyperaware of Duncan’s body pressed into her own. He was warm and fit perfectly around her. One of his hands pleasantly rubbed at her hip, every now then sneaking up to the skin between her top and pajama bottoms. 

 

His lips ghosted over her neck causing Courtney to sigh contentedly. Instinctively she pushed herself back into him. Through his sweatpants she could feel him getting hard. Courtney bit her lip and experimentally wiggled her hips. 

 

“Princess...” Duncan gasped and gripped her hip. 

 

“Oops... I was just trying to get comfortable.” She ground her ass against his erection again making him groan.

 

“Tease.” Duncan muffled into her neck but didn’t withdraw. “You know exactly what you’re doing.” 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Courtney denied but continued to swivel her hips. 

 

“Keep that up and you’re going to be in trouble.” He warned and nibbled on her shoulder to restrain himself. Courtney couldn’t help herself, turning him on was turning her on. This time she ground her backside in an upward motion that stroked him from base to tip and she found herself on her back with her arms pinned by her head.  

 

Duncan looked down at Courtney with an intensity that made her shiver and her heart race. Her chest heaved underneath his and a beat later their mouths crashed together. 

 

His weight settled over her and Courtney immediately wrapped her legs around him the way she had the other night, and moaned into his mouth at the pressure on her center. As they got lost in their kiss she pulled her hands away from his as began to pull at his hoodie. 

 

“Take this off.” He pulled the offending garment, along with the t-shirt underneath, off in one swoop, and attached his lips to hers again. He held her by her rib cage, his thumbs barely grazing the undersides of her breasts. Her breath hitched every time he touched her there and when he swiped against a nipple her hips came off the mattress.

One less barrier was an improvement but it wasn’t enough. 

 

Suddenly Courtney sat up. Duncan was about to ask if he’d gone too far but then she held his face in her hands and kissed him softly. With their faces still close she raised her arms over her head. He held his breath in anticipation when he got the hint. Slowly he peeled her top off until he was discarding it somewhere on the floor. He was still looking into her eyes and when he let his gaze fall onto her chest, the air in lungs came out shakily through his lips, she wasn’t wearing a bra.  

 

 

“Duncan...” Courtney whispered starting to feel self conscious but then she saw him lick his lips. 

 

“They’re better than I imagined...” Courtney rolled her eyes at his dreamy expression and pulled him back on top of her.

 

Duncan kissed down her collarbone before hovering over her right breast. When his mouth claimed her nipple her hands fisted in his hair. Desire pulsated straight down with every flick of his tongue. The metal of his tongue ring applying a pressure that made her toes curl. She got lost in the feeling as he took turns going from one side to the other, making sure that the breast that wasn’t in his mouth was fondled by his hands. 

 

Courtney restlessly moves her hips, looking for some sort of relief for the aching between her legs. Without warning Duncan put his hands down the back of her pants and squeezed her ass.

 

“You’re not wearing underwear either?” He panted in shock and cocked an eyebrow. 

 

“I don’t wear underwear to bed.” Courtney answered breathily and moaned when he squeezed hard enough to leave imprints of his nails. 

 

He was so preoccupied that she took him completely off guard when she pulled down her pants and kicked them off.  

He became still at sight of her completely naked body. Every curve and dip, her flushed skin, her wet folds as she parted her legs. 

 

He stared for what felt like a whole minute then swallowed hard. 

 

“You’re fucking perfect.” Duncan had to use every bit of control not cum then and there. Courtney’s stomach fluttered. Her half lidded brown eyes stared at his erection through his pants. Gingerly she pulled on a drawstring, undoing the tie at the waistband. 

 

“Court...” He stilled her hand. 

 

“I’m sure.” He saw nothing but sincerity and desire on her face and brought her fingers up to his mouth to kiss them. He’d wanted this for so long but needed her to be ready. Duncan kissed Courtney again, long and deep as he touched her inner thighs. 

 

He broke the kiss to gauge her reaction and swiped the pad of his finger up her slit. Courtney whimpered his touch, encouraging him to repeat the motion. Her eyes fluttered as she focused on his movements. 

 

He was gentle and careful, just lightly massaging her damp skin. He parted her lips and circled her clit causing her to pull his hair again. She hid her face in his neck to stifle her sounds. Forbid Cate, or worse, her parents walk in. Although the danger of being caught made it all the more exciting. 

 

She was so wet that it was easy for him to slide a finger inside of her. Courtney gasped his name and his cock twitched. He added in another digit and curled his fingers, drunk on the way she squirmed and moved against his hand, fucking herself on his fingers. He kissed her neck again before lowering himself so that he was face to face with her sex and looked her dead in the eye as his tongue made contact. 

 

Duncan took in her scent and taste; committed this moment to memory. He left no part of her unexplored and took pleasure in each discovery. He could spend all night doing just this and be content. 

 

Courtney didn’t know what to do with herself, her hands pulled at her own hair then tweaked her nipples while he worked his tongue over her clit, slowing down and speeding up. Her orgasm hit her when he sucked on her clit while pumping his fingers in and out of her. She gripped his bicep where the skull tattoo was inked and opened her mouth in a silent scream. Duncan used his free hand to hold her in place letting her ride the wave for as long as possible. 

 

He kissed her stomach up to her breasts as she caught her breath before laying a kiss onto her forehead. Then he sat back on his heels to pull off the rest of his clothes. With half lidded eyes Courtney watched him free his erection, proud that she was the reason for it. 

 

Surprisingly, this wasn’t the first time she had seen Duncan’s dick. Last summer they all spent the day at the beach for Canada Day.

In the middle of the fireworks going off Duncan streaked across the beach, naked as the day he was born. He hadn’t been firmly at attention at the time but she got an eye full as the bright bursts of light left nothing to the imagination.  

 

Duncan was relieved now that he wasn’t restricted, but then inhaled abruptly at Courtney’s lithe fingers on his shaft. 

 

She was curious, and by nature wanted to immediately learn everything there was to know about how to touch him, and become an expert at it. She got closer to view how when she ran her finger across the smooth skin how it moved on it’s own accord, how the tip leaked. Duncan let what he’d only ever dreamed unfold. 

 

Tentatively she stroked him once, and Duncan groaned low in his throat. Her thumb circled against the head, intrigued, and brought her thumb to her mouth to suck on it. 

 

Duncan almost passed out. He couldn’t wait anymore. He started to reach for the wallet in his discarded pants but Courtney cut him off by opening the bottom drawer of her nightstand and held up a condom. 

 

“There were leftovers from that safe sex workshop at the clinic I volunteer at. Plus, you shouldn’t keep condoms in your wallet.” She informed as she ripped open the condom like it was no big deal, throwing him for a loop.

 

“I learned how to do this.” Courtney shocked him further by correctly rolling the condom down his cock on the first try. “On a banana of course-”

 

He pounced.

 

“That was hot.” Duncan added as he claimed her mouth aggressively. His hands cradled her head sweetly but his kiss was demanding and hungry. Their naked bodies touching for the first time a thrill of its own. His stiff length was right between them, coating the condom. Courtney nudged her hips.

 

He lined himself up with her entrance and waited for her to change her mind but no resistance came. He carefully pushed just the tip inside of her, despite wanting so badly to fill her tight heat in one thrust. Slowly, he let her take him in until he bottomed out and was fully inside of her. Courtney adjusted to the new sensation. 

 

“You feel so fucking good...” Duncan groaned “are you okay?” 

 

“It doesn’t hurt, keep going.” She encouraged and he obeyed, pulling almost all of the way out before thrusting back in. Courtney gasped,  not expecting how good it would feel to be this close to him. Her arms that were wound around his neck drifted down his sides and took purchase on his hips. When he thrust into her again she pulled him forcefully against her and he hissed. 

 

“Harder?” He grinned, knowing that Courtney wasn’t ever shy to say what she wanted. Duncan thrust hard enough this time for her to be pushed into the mattress and she moaned her approval. 

 

He let himself get lost in her. He brought her breasts to his mouth, licking and sucking while squeezing possessively.  He left behind red marks that claimed her as his as she met every thrust threw her head back. 

 

He couldn’t focus on just one part of her as he put his hands under her to grab the ass that he’d itched have. Their foreheads were touching making it easy to steal a kisses and whisper wanton words.

 

“My Princess...” Duncan whispered, thick and deep. The nickname had become a term of endearment over time, but hearing him say it like that, gave it a whole new meaning. 

 

He was close to the edge and moved faster. Courtney’s moans and whines of pleasure pushed him closer and closer until he was shuddering above her and holding her tight to his chest. 

 

They kissed while he softened in side of her, the classical music still playing in the background but so far away from their post sex bubble. Courtney giggled at the realization of what they had done. Duncan’s lazy smile adding to the feeling that she was floating on air. 

 

“We had sex.” Courtney laughed and rolled them over so that she was on top. He couldn’t believe it either and drew patterns on her back and ass affectionately. 

 

They couldn’t stop smiling at each other, giddy and happy, and this day that had threatened to drive them apart, ended by bringing them closer together than ever before. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

The dam had broken and Duncan and Courtney couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. For the past week, any time they could get alone was spent kissing which turned into touching which turned into sex. They couldn’t get enough of each other, which is how they found themselves in a school stairwell with Courtney’s back up against a wall. 

 

“I can only be gone one more minute before it looks suspicious.” Courtney warned, out of breath from their make out session. She left English class under the guise of needing to use the bathroom. That alone was suspicious because she never left in the middle of a class, but Duncan had texted her wanting to meet up and she couldn’t say no. She hadn’t seen him since last night which felt entirely too long. 

 

“We can do a lot in two minutes.” Duncan slipped his hands down her  back and squeezed her cheeks. Courtney tangled her hands in his hair and hitched a leg around his waist. 

 

Sneaking around was easily the most fun she’d ever had. It wasn’t that they weren’t going to tell their friends and family eventually, they just wanted to keep it between themselves for now and away from prying eyes. Besides, the secrecy and danger of being caught was hot. 

 

“Okay times up!” Courtney playfully pushed on his chest not really bothered that he didn’t move. 

 

“Nope.” Duncan refused and kept kissing her. She was trapped between him and the wall and was too giddy from his kisses to make a better argument. 

 

“Dunkyyyyy.” She drew out and pouted. 

 

“You’re lucky you’re so damn cute.” He backed away but still loosely held his arms around her. 

 

“Come over tonight?” As Courtney disengaged she kissed him on the cheek. He gave her a look that said that he obviously was going to sneak into her room like he did almost every night.

 

“Go back to class nerd.” She backed away with her tongue stuck out at him until he was no longer in sight. 

* * *

Courtney was practically skipping down the hallway with how happy she was. She forced herself to slow down to a normal walk when she got back to English class. No one is that happy after using the bathroom. 

 

Everyone was journaling independently when she returned which made it easy not to draw attention, but her professor stopped her before she made it back to her desk. 

 

“See me after class.” Mrs. Smith told her ominously. The older woman didn’t give away any clue about what the reason could be. Usually when Courtney was asked to be seen after class it was for praise, or to see if she was interested in an essay writing competition. Her foot shook as she counted down the minutes until the bell rang and tried to convince herself that everything was fine.

 

A feeling a dread washed over her as she gathered her things and stood next to Mrs. Smith’s desk.

 

“You wanted to see me?” Courtney asked politely with all the optimism she could muster. The professor didn’t look up and flipped through her test booklets until she found Courtney’s. She flipped open the cover to reveal the number sixty-eight in the teachers handwriting. Courtney’s heart stopped. 

 

“This is the grade that I should give you.” Mrs. Smith said sternly with disappointment, while pointing at the shameful mark. Then she closed the booklet and handed it to her. 

 

“But seeing as you are one of my best students and it is out of character for you to  perform this poorly, I will let you rewrite the essay.” Courtney began to breathe again.

 

“I’m so sorry I let you down, thank you so much for the opportunity, I don’t know what went wrong-” She rambled on.

 

“The highest grade that I can give you is a B. It’s not fair to other students to give you a second chance.” Courtney nodded solemnly, accepting the stipulation. It was better than nothing. “Have it back to me by tomorrow morning.”

 

“I will, thank you, again.” 

 

The work began to pile on after that and by the time she made it to last period Courtney had calculus, chemistry, and history homework to do tonight; in addition to her essay rewrite. 

 

She was so on edge. Courtney spent her lunch period in the library to get a jump start on her homework and worked diligently, while ignoring an urge that had started building as soon as she had gotten her essay grade. Usually she could hold off at least until she got home to punish herself, but the urge kept nagging at her. 

 

“Are you okay?” Courtney shook herself from her thoughts and turned to Trent. It was her last class of the day, orchestra, the class that she always looked forward to but now was too distracted to enjoy it. 

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Courtney insisted, pushing away his concern. She loosened her grip on the violin string she had been tightening and gave him her full attention. “What were you saying?”

 

“The campaign? You still want to run together as President and VP, right?” Trent asked. Shit, how could she completely forget that it was time to run again? The thought of all the posters, pins, and the speech she had to work on, crashed down on her. She faked a smile.

 

“Of course! I’ll send you some ideas later.” Trent have her a strange look. “You better get to band before class starts!” She said in a too chipper voice. 

 

The band and orchestra rooms were next to each other so Trent would pop over sometimes to talk. From the look on his face he didn’t buy her brushing him off.  

 

“You know if you ever need anything-”

 

“Got it!” She cut him off. He sighed, knowing that there was something she wasn’t telling him, but left for his class. 

 

“Let’s go from the top of the new piece.” Courtney’s orchestra teacher instructed and they readied their instruments. Courtney placed her bow against the strings. When in doubt, her violin was her saving grace. Music was something that came so naturally to her, and she could get lost in playing. This is what she needed. 

 

Halfway through the piece she still had yet to relax. The tension in her neck traveled to her shoulders, down her arms and to her hands. She closed her eyes since she already knew the notes, and tried to breathe evenly. Her brows furrowed when she kept failing to get control of herself, unconsciously pushing harder and harder on the violin’s strings. Just as her frustration hit its peak one of her violin strings snapped and hit her across her cheek. 

 

The orchestra teacher stopped conducting, causing a discordant sound before the instruments stopped playing. 

 

“Sorry, I think I tuned it too tightly.” Courtney admitted, slightly embarrassed. It had been a long time since she had a string break.  She took such pride in keeping her violin in tip top condition. 

 

“Courtney are you all right?” Her teacher looked on with concern for his first chair violinist. 

 

“I’m fine, I have an extra string in my case.” 

 

“You’re bleeding.” Courtney raised her hand to her face and when she pulled it back there was red smeared on her fingers. 

 

“Please go to the nurse and have it looked at.” Begrudgingly Courtney left the classroom but didn’t turn down the correct hallway that lead to the nurse’s office. Instead she entered a bathroom to assess the damage herself. 

 

Her reflection wasn’t much different than normal, sans a thin slice that indicated had it been an inch higher, the string would have hit her in the eye. Courtney wet a paper towel to clean away the blood and dapped at the cut.

 

She flinched at the sting of an open wound, but held up the compress again. 

 

Slowly she pressed against the cut once more, and added more pressure. Her teeth grit at the pain but she didn’t let up. When she couldn’t take it anymore she pulled away and caught her breath. As she inspected the cut in the mirror again, a sense of relief washed over her. The release the pain gave was almost euphoric. The urge that had been nagging her all day, satiated. 

* * *

Duncan shifted and pulled a notebook from under his back where it was digging in, then shifted again to push away the markers that were on Courtney’s bed.

 

“Campaign ideas.” Courtney explained while pulling down his pants. She worked non stop since she got home from school and when Duncan showed up around ten o’clock she was begging for a break and to blow off steam. 

 

“How are you gonna convince me to vote for you?” Duncan dropped smug grin as Courtney’s mouth hovered over his hard cock.

 

“I have some really persuasive tactics...” her breath teased him  “and I think you’ll like my approach to handling hard topics.” She held her position, her mouth barely touching the tip.

 

“You’ve got my vote.” Courtney smiled seductively and gave him the relief he was aching for.

 

Later, Duncan had his arms around her back as she straddled his hips as they basked in the afterglow. Courtney being on top was proving to be one of Duncan’s favorite positions. She was so sexy when she took control and he loved being able to have his hands free to roam over her body and take in how gorgeous she was. 

 

“I have to work on my essay, but you can sleepover...” Courtney kissed his forehead. 

 

“Stay with me.

 

“I can’t.” She grumbled and rolled off of him before she changed her mind. She put on his discarded shirt. 

 

“You look good in my clothes.” This part of their relationship was still new, so when Duncan said things like that to her she had to kiss him for being sweet. 

 

“I think so too.” 

* * *

The light tap on her door startled Courtney. She was putting the final touches on her essay and was completely in the zone that she jumped at the noise. At first she panicked because she thought maybe one of her parents had come to check on her. She would be in an unfathomable amount of trouble. Not only was she up at two am on a school night, but a very naked Duncan was asleep in her bed. They weren’t exactly his biggest fans.

 

Instant relief washed over her when the tapping started again and she realized it was coming from the door to the conjoining bathroom. Courtney crossed the distance and opened the door just a crack. 

 

“What are you doing awake?” She was more harsh with Cate than necessary, but the lack of sleep was weighing on her.

 

“I saw the light on under your door...besides, you guys aren’t as quiet as you think you are.” Courtney’s eyes widened at Cate and she tried to recover quickly.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Cate didn’t buy it and pushed the door open wider to reveal Duncan asleep in Courtney’s bed, the sheets arranged on his waist to hide anything explicit. 

 

“Mom and Dad would kill you if they knew he was here.”

 

“They aren’t going to find out.” Courtney threatened and stared her down. Cate sighed and crossed her arms.

 

“I’m not going to tell them.” 

 

“Great. Now go to bed.” Courtney started to close the door. 

 

“Wait-”

 

“What?” Courtney hissed. Cate face started to break into a grin.

 

“Duncan and Courtney sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-” Courtney closed the door in her face, promptly cutting her off, and locked it. 

 

Feeling that her essay was sufficient, she printed it off, her eyeballs burning. Then she climbed in bed on top of Duncan and snuggled into his chest. He always cuddled back into her instantaneously, surrounding her in his embrace. 

 

As Courtney drifted off to sleep she planned out the rest of her week. 

 

She could do this, she could balance it all. She might never sleep again though. 

 


End file.
